Mini Camps

Most summer camps offer four week or eight week (sometimes seven week) sessions. Perhaps you only want to send your child to camp for a week or two. That's one reason mini camps are so appealing. These short-term summer programs are usually one or two weeks long and often hold sessions at various times throughout the summer giving families flexibility about when children will be in camp. It makes planning summer vacations a lot easier. Short-term summer programs also offer a lot of variety by giving children the opportunity to learn about many different things. Here's a list of some programs being offered across Long Island this summer.

Atlantis Marine World's Summer Adventure Days
Four different programs make up Atlantis Marine World's Summer Adventure Days. Younger children (ages 4-5) attend with their parents for two days. Older children (6-14) attend one week sessions and are split into groups according to age. Each group has age-appropriate activities.

Friends Academy Sports Camps
Friends Academy in Locust Valley offers a Sports Academy and an All-Sport Camp, in addition to their general camp program. The Sports Academy has two, four and six week sessions. Campers select two sports for each two-week session. The All-Sport Camp is a one week program designed for serious athletes. Campers choose one sport.

Future Stars
Future Stars offers two week-long tennis camps, one in Southampton and the other in East Hampton. There are also two-week circus arts and drama camps and one-week basketball, baseball, softball, magic and swim camps at SUNY Old Westbury.

Hofstra Summer Camps
Hofstra offers two, four, or six week programs in their sports or specialty camps. They also offer a one week specialty camp that runs from August 11 through 15. In specialty camps, campers major in an academic, creative, or athletic area for half a day, and participate in recreational activities for the other half. Hofstra's sports camps focus on a particular sport.

LuHi Summer Programs
LuHi (Long Island Lutheran Middle and High School) offers a variety of sports, recreation, and educational programs on its Brookville campus. Each two-week program runs from 9:30 a.m. to 3:45 p.m. daily. There are so many programs to choose from that you may decide to enroll your child in several sessions.

CAMP ZOO
This program at the Long Island Game Farm in Manorville gives children a chance to "spend a week at the zoo" learning about animals, zoos, and wildlife conservation. Email the staff of the Game Farm at campzoo@longislandgamefarm.com or call Melinda Novak at (631) 878-0202.

Summer Camp at the Cradle of Aviation
The Cradle of Aviation Museum offers four five-day sessions. Campers can attend for full or half days.

Oasis Summer Programs
Oasis has three locations on Long Island: Christopher Morley Park in Roslyn, Nickerson Beach Park in Lido and Michael J. Tully Jr. Park in New Hyde Park. Children can attend two to eight week sessions from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily. There is also a teen travel program.

Cornell Cooperative Extension of Suffolk County

Cornell Cooperative Extension of Suffolk County offers a variety of programs that range from one day to one week.

Summer Fun Days at the Farm in Yaphank
School age children can enroll in various one-week programs including Farm Fun and Pony Experience. Those in grades seven through 12 can participate in a farm animal care program offered the week of July 7 through 11.

Summer Programs at the Vanderbilt Museum in Centerport
Children learn about Long Island's marine environment. There are one-day sessions for pre-schoolers and one-week sessions for older children.

Peconic Dunes Camp
Peconic Dunes offers one-week day camp or overnight camp programs.

Sea Explorers Marine Day Camp
Children learn about marine science and Long Island’s marine environment. Sessions are one week long and are held Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Sport Fishing Education Center at Cedar Beach Marina on Ocean Parkway in Babylon.